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How to Leverage Applicant Tracking Systems To Land a Job

Sharlyn Lauby, SPHR, CPLP, is the HR Bartender, whose blog is a friendly place to discuss workplace issues. When not "bartending," Sharlyn is president of Internal Talent Management, which specializes in leadership training and human resources consulting.

Since paper applications are going the way of the dinosaur in favor of digital job postings, it only seems logical to have more automated recruitment processes. Along with increased technology in the hiring process, there can also be some challenges for the average jobseeker.

One frustration is the electronic application submission process, commonly known as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Applicants regularly complain about the proverbial “black hole” their resumes are sent off to when they hit the submit button, never to be seen by anyone again.

It’s doubtful that we will return to old school recruitment, so it’s time to demystify Applicant Tracking Systems. Let's take a look behind the curtain to find out how to make an ATS work for you.

ATS Defined

SilkRoad Technology provides a full suite of cloud-based social talent management software that encompasses all employee milestones from pre-hire to retire. Their ATS is called OpenHire, which is used as an enterprise solution for companies all over the country. Thomas Boyle, the director of product strategy, explains how Applicant Tracking Systems work:

“Applicant tracking systems provide a software interface for companies to manage their hiring process. At a base level, this consists of opening new positions and advertising them online — either on a corporate home page or job boards. Once recruiters open the position and advertise it, the ATS provides an interface for candidates to apply online and for managers and recruiters to view and search though those candidate submissions before moving them through the hiring processing — typically from screening to interview to offer and, of course, hire.”

Why Companies Use an ATS

We can’t forget there’s a clear business reason why companies utilize an ATS. Colin Day, CEO and president of talent acquisition software company iCIMS, Inc., says an ATS is becoming a must-have in today’s recruitment world because it allows companies of all sizes to streamline and automate HR responsibilities.

“Recruiters are adopting them for a number of reasons, including social media outreach capabilities, the need to more effectively manage candidate data, and the desire to achieve significant cost and time savings," Day explains. "With an ATS, HR can automate and store hiring documents online so HR professionals never have to worry about sifting through stacks of paperwork or hundreds of emails to find what they need.”

Advantages for Job Seekers

It’s clear to see the efficiency advantage for a company using an ATS, but what are the advantages to the job seeker? Lisa Sterling, director of people engagement at cloud and software provider Ultimate Software, says speed is the answer.

“With an ATS, especially one that can give hiring managers — not just recruiters — control of the hiring process, job applicants can get their resumes, cover letters and data in front of the appropriate hiring authority quicker for faster review of qualifications, making the application-submission process much more efficient for applicants,” Sterling says.

The other benefit is better information. “Applicants can better position their resumes with job-related keywords to take advantage of a solution’s automated screening tools that index and crawl submissions," Sterling explains. "This might bring an applicant’s resume to the forefront, where otherwise it might have been overlooked through manual submission and review.”

How to Use the ATS for Success

As with any kind of technology, ATS software can only work with what it’s given. If you submit garbage … well, you know the rest. Applicants need to know how to position themselves for success.

Day recommends getting a clear understanding of the position before applying. “Do not become a serial candidate — one who skims through job descriptions and applies to every position a company has available. Read descriptions more than once and get an understanding of what a company wants from you.”

Sterling notes the unique features of Ultimate Software’s solution have carefully considered the candidate experience: “We take a different approach to applicant tracking with our talent acquisition solution, because traditional systems aren’t designed with the candidate in mind."

Nonetheless, some tips to help candidates optimize submissions for a typical ATS include:

Tailoring your resume and job application to the specific job requirements referenced in the posting — emphasize your relevant experience and skills in the areas that are critical to that position, rather than submitting your standard resume.

Adding specific keywords into the application that are referenced in the job posting, so that applicant screening tools that index and crawl submissions for certain key terms and phrases will pick them up.

Adding additional instances of keywords from the job posting to your resume in white font. The additional instances of the keywords won’t be visible when recruiters read the resume, but they increase the likelihood that the resume will be tagged as a good fit by search tools.

Including your Twitter handle and LinkedIn profile to give recruiters a way to access more information about you.

The Importance of Keywords

Jason Buss, founder of the talent site Talent HQ, echoes the comments about the importance of keywords.

“The biggest thing most recruiting professionals will highlight is the effective use of keywords on your resume when applying using an applicant tracking system," Buss explains. "Leverage sites like LinkedIn to see what connections you have within an organization when you are applying.”

However, Buss does caution that keywords are important when applying: They aren’t a silver bullet when it comes to getting a job. “Keywords play an important role in an ATS, given that recruiting professionals primarily use keyword searches to find candidates that most closely match the requirements of a position. However, the best written resume isn’t as valuable as having contacts, a network and connections within a company.”

Leverage the System

Day reminds us that the goal of an ATS is to free up a recruiter's time to spend with candidates. “Recruiters should focus on building a quality workforce. Applicant tracking systems allow HR professionals to focus on that and not the administration often associated with the hiring process.” Optimizing your resume, focusing on keywords in the ATS interface and still getting out to network are the steps to finding a new opportunity.

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